10 March 2008
Maputo — The death toll from the floods in central Mozambique in January and February now stands at 20, according to the country's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC).
INGC deputy national director, Joao Ribeiro, told reporters on Monday that the authorities knew of 20 people killed as a direct result of the floods, which struck the basins of the Zambezi, Pungoe, Buzi and Save rivers. This figure excludes people who died from other causes, such as attacks by crocodiles.
Ribeiro added that a further 14 people are known to have died from cholera in outbreaks of the disease in resettlement areas for flood victims in the Zambezi Valley.
"This can be regarded as the final balance sheet", he told AIM. All the rivers are now well below flood alert level, and the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi has reduced its discharges to a modest 1,300 cubic metres a second.
Thus, although the rainy season is not over until the end of March, it seems unlikely that there will be any renewed flooding.
Currently, Ribeiro said, the INGC is distributing plots of land to around 100,000 victims of the floods, so that they can build homes in resettlement areas located on high ground above the flood plains.
Mm/pf (219)
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